Army Navy 2018 Joint Tailgater with Knights Out
WordPress Migration
We’ve Arrived!
Your feedback is important to us. We did extensive testing on our upgraded site to ensure our visot experience was a good one. But there is nothing better than 406 real visitors to help uncover some of the unexpected issues that you might uncover.
It should be obvious that we’ve made a major upgrade to our website.
We are now using WordPress for our content management system. Have an interest websites? Please contact us and let us know your skill sets.
WordPress is the CMS du jour for websites, it is open source and supported by a thriving community. It is non-proprietary and is here to stay in the foreseeable future. Yes, the WordPress user-interface is very intuitive and multi-platform friendly… “Easier than Facebook” to post a news story to share with other USNA Outers. Continue reading “WordPress Migration”
2018 Dinner in Annapolis
Continuing a tradition begun in April, 2009, 35 USNA Outer and guests were joined by 32 Midshipmen to honor the soon to be graduation class in Annapolis.
This was our third year to hold the event in Historic Ogle Hall, the home of our Alumni Association.
We enjoyed great food and company. So great that Continue reading “2018 Dinner in Annapolis”
Sails & Tales 2018
Sails & Tales of USNA Outers will be back in 2018! If you’re looking for other ways to meet up with Alumni in a venue other than football, here’s your chance! The first Sails & Tales of USNA Outers was a resounding success with many tales told and lots of amazing sailing.
Built in 1922 in Boothbay, Maine, Ladona recently completed a two-year rebuild and is fitted to carry 16 passengers. Schooner Ladona is reserved by USNAOuters to sail and tell old Continue reading “Sails & Tales 2018”
Dark Ages Get Together in DC
USNAOut member Rob Beer (’90) and his partner Van Ellis hosted our first Dark Ages Mixer in their home in Washington, DC. There was no better way to shake off those winter blues than getting together with your shipmates! Thanks to Rob and Van for their hospitality!
Navy Spectrum BBQ
The Columbus Day Weekend Barbecue with the Navy Spectrum midshipman was a tremendous success with about 25 midshipmen, alumni, and friends in attendance.
A huge big THANKS again to Navy Spectrum for inviting us USNA Out members to join your BBQ!
CAPT Jarrett’s Promotion
On Friday, September 1st, USNAOut member Rich Jarrett was promoted to Captain at the Naval Academy’s Robert Crown Sailing Center. Joining him was his husband, Dann, and his family, sponsor family, friends, colleagues and a couple USNAOut members.
Please join us in congratulating the Navy’s newest Captain and his family.
San Francisco Pride Kickoff
USNA Out members in Northern California gathered at the home our member Zoe Dunning ’85 for our 2017 Pride Kickoff Get-Together. Zoe was giving us our first visit to her recently redone home high above Noe Valley. More than half of our Bay Area members were able to attend, including seven of our new Bay Area arrivals!
Uniformly, everyone felt that “we need to do this more often!”
2017 Alumni Midshipmen Annual Event in Annapolis
It seems like yesterday that USNAOut and Navy Spectrum were gathered in Ogle Hall, the home of USNA’s Alumni Association, for our annual Alumni and Midshipmen Dinner. This has always been my favorite USNAOut event, as it gathers alumni together to reconnect with each other, congratulate our midshipmen on completing another year, and welcome the fleet’s newest Navy and Marine Corps officers to our ranks. It’s been a pleasure to this event grow each year from the small, private meeting into the gathering of 70+ midshipmen, alumni, and guests. Last year we’ve seen the numbers of midshipmen attendees continue to grow to the point they outnumber the alumni!
We also had the honor of presenting ten Ensigns, and three Second Lieutenants their first sets of shoulder boards and insignia, which they wore with pride at their commissioning. And 2ndLt Chris Goodale (’17) also introduced an Spectrum sponsored initiative to build a mentorship program that promises to connect alumni of all ages and phases of their military and civilian careers and personal lives. And, as usual, some key members stepped up to make the event happen. I’d like to extend a long overdue “BZ” to Steve Hall (’75), Kristen “Rosie” Barnes (’92), Jeff Morrison (’04), Chip Hall (USCGA ’12), Dave Wolynski (’97), and Chris Goodale (’17).
Fast forward 10 months, it is already time to prepare for this year’s dinner. I hope you’ll mark your calendars to join us on 6 May at Ogle Hall to congratulate all the Spectrum Mids on another year done and welcome the class of 2018 to our ranks. Please keep an eye out for the registration link and let us know you are coming. We look forward to seeing you!
The 2017 Alumni & Midshipmen Event in Annapolis
The Invites are ALMOST OUT!
All USNA Out members are invited to join us at our NINTH annual alumni event in Annapolis, when the we welcome our soon to be newest members from the Class of 2016 who will be graduating and commissioning 19 days following our event. Welcoming our new alumni members through this annual event has become the most cherished and meaningful of all USNA Out activities.
The event planners are excited to share that for the second time our event is happening in historic Ogle Hall, the home of the USNA Alumni Association. Ogle Hall is just outside the Yard though Gate Three, on the corner of King James Street & College Avenue. Also as in 2016, so we can better accommodate all our members and guest midshipmen, the event will be held on a Sunday Afternoon, May 7.
RSVPs are required by Sunday, 30 April (note: early registration by 21 April is discounted).
If you cannot make this year’s event, consider making a contribution when you RSVP so that we can continue to keep the event at little to no-charge for our midshipmen guests.
If you have recently met other USNA LGBT alumni who might not yet be registered on our website, please forward this invitation to them so they may also enjoy the opportunity join us in Annapolis.
For our large membership contingent in the Norfolk area, consider coordinating car pooling with the other LGBT alumni in the area.
Hope to see you in Annapolis!
Just click the invitation below to RSVP!
8/16/2016 – Member Paula Neira ’85 to Co-Sponsor USNS Harvey Milk (T-AO-206)
Paula Nira ’86
It is with great excitement to share that the Secretary of the Navy has announced that Senator Diane Feinstein and USNA Out founding member Paula Neira ’85 are the co-sponsors of the USNS HARVEY MILK (T-AO-206). The ship’s sponsor is a ceremonial position to bestow good luck and divine protection over the ship.
The “Naming Ceremony” will take place at 2 pm, Tuesday, August 16th on the “great lawn” of Treasure Island, San Francisco.
Paula was a member of the Class of ’85. After graduation with distinction, she became a surface warfare officer. She entered the reserves at the end of her obligated service, but volunteered for active duty serving on a minesweeper during Operation Desert Storm.
After resigning her commission, Paula continued her education in nursing and in law, becoming a member of the Maryland Bar Association in 2002.
Paula was a relentless leader in the fight agains the former policy knows as “DOn’t Ask, DOn’t Tell.” After the repeal, she continued her important work towards transgender service.
Paula was the first transgender veteran to win the right to have her military records changed to reflect their correct names and gender. This past May, Paula was inducted into the SLDN Hall of Heroes.
https://www.c-span.org/video/?c3818036/paula-neiras-story
General Dynamics NASSCO was awarded a $3 billion contract by the U. S. Navy in June for the detailed design and construction of the next generation of fleet oilers, the John Lewis-class (TAO-205). This contract is for the construction of six ships. The U.S. Navy’s FY2017 budget requests advance procurement for the HarveyMilk, with procurement expected to occur in FY2018.
2016 Dinner Postex
Alumni support for the dinner continues to grow
whether or not they are able to attend
Attendance by alumni was down by 30% from previous year. Analysis of 34 alumni identified as having attended one of the previous 5 dinners, 26 either RSVPd regrets or have moved out of the DC area. Reasons for no-attenance of 8 others unknown. Four alumni (20%) were joining the dinner for their first time.
Numbers by the Year
| 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mids – 1/C | 4 | 7 | 5 | 18 | 13 | 8 |
| Mids – 234/C | 14 | 14 | 13 | 11 | 20 | 14 |
| Mid guests | 1 | 2 | 6 | 12 | 7 | 6 |
| Alumni | 6 | 18 | 33 | 30 | 30 | 21 |
| Alumni guests | 5 | 6 | 12 | 13 | 11 | 9 |
| Others | 6 | 1 | 6 | |||
| Total Attendees | 30 | 47 | 69 | 90 | 82 | 64 |
| Donor attending | 1 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 11 | 17 |
| Donor absentia | 0 | 0 | 3 | 5 | 10 | 9 |
| Total Donors | 1 | 1 | 7 | 10 | 21 | 26 |
| Dinner Food & Bev | N/A | $1500 | $8006 | $6923 | $4639 | $5773 |
| Decor/Printing | N/A | $0 | $0 | $94 | $13 | |
| Dinner Total | N/A | $1500 | $8006 | $6923 | $4733 | $5786 |
| Dinner Revenue | $0 | $1500 | $1999 | $5445 | $5026 | $4960 |
| USNA Out Subsidy | $0 | $0 | $6006 | $1478 | -$387 | $812 |
| Ticket Price | $0.00 | $0.00 | $50.00 | $50.00 | $60.00 | $65.00 |
| Cost/attendee | N/A | $31.91 | $116.03 | $76.92 | $56.57 | $90.20 |
| Subsity/attendee | N/A | N/A | $87.05 | $16.42 | -$4.71 | $12.69 |
| Awards | N/A | $394.90 | $557.79 | $468.00 | $429.00 | $263.53 |
This report is here for info and resource of lessons learned for subsequent events, i.e. “how did we do it last time” and “how can it be better.” To see the history of all dinners, see http://usnaout.org/evolutions-alumni-student-dinners. Due to overwhelming very positive comments after the event, a post-event survey was not sent to attendees as in past years.
Attendance
NEED TO UPDATE WITH 2016 NUMBERS, these are 2014
Attending: 64
- 22 mids
- 6 guests of mids
- 21 alumni
- 9 guests of alumni
No shows: 3
Unplanned: 1 – “ally” midshipman 2/C
Tag along mids: 0
Note: No “hidden on the roster” nor unknown mids arrived at this event, a consistent pattern since the end of DADT.
Funding (unaudited)
The Class of 2014 executed the dinner event remaining within $1000 of collected funds which was the goal of the Chair & treasurer.
$5,000.00 contributions via PayPal® $ (154.67) PayPal fees $4,845.33 net PayPal receipts $ 115.00 checks $ 0.00 cash received at dinner $4,960.33 Total receipts $5,772.52 Catering $ 13.22 Printing $5,785.74 Total expenses $ 825.41 Shortfall paid by USNA Out
$292.71 in sales taxes which would have been precluded with Determination Letter (not received until 5/5/14)
The Event – What Happened and When
Planning
A POAM was re-developed from 2013 and followed. Most actions completed ahead or on schedule. Items not accomplished as planned were:
Email Communications
- 1/23/2014 (90 days before event) – Class of 2014 sent to all members “save the date” (SENT 1 DAY EARLY)
- 3/11/11/2013 – Invitations from the Class of 2013 emailed to membership (4 DAYS EARLY)
- 4/4/2014 – USNA Out sent early registration reminder (1 DAY EARLY)
- 4/24/201 – USNA Out sent to dinner attendees updated SOE of the evening (Not in POAM, but could/should be included as action item in the future.
RSVPs
The RSVP period was 48 days long.
46 total RSVPs received of 302 non-mid members (15.2%)
When
- 18 – 39% RSVPs received immediately after first email
- 13 – 28% RSVPs received after initial rush before 3 week reminder
- 12 – 26% of RSVPs received after 3 week reminder before deadline
- 2 – 4% received after deadline (1 AD)
- 1 – 2% received after event
How
- 4 RSVPs received via email after initial invitation
- 42 RSVPs received via website
About the Event
“Save the Date” via email 90 days prior to the event per common protocol.
Invitations composited via photoshop (file linked below) and emailed to all alumni, faculty, staff, parent members. No mids nor courtesy distribution. Invite included time/location as they were set in time for the emailing.
A “schedule of events” was prepared and printed on goldenrod card stock. 8 half sheets were placed notables but were quickly absorbed by guests.
Attendees were provided pre-printed name Avery 74461 badges created online at http://www.avery.com/avery/en_us/Templates-%26-Software/Software/Avery-Design–Print-Online.htm.
Merging CSV file of attendees (First name, Last name, class) with USNA Out logo in ULH corner, printed to PDFs which were then taken to FedEx to print on white & blue card stock.
Midshipmen had an option to be designated as “ok to be in photos” or “not ok.” All midshipmen name badges were reversible. Those who were OK were initially given their name badge with the white (same as alumni) side showing, those who were not comfortable were initially blue.
Program proceeded exactly per the programmed times.
Recommended changes: Add housekeeping announcements to the program. Needed announcements include:
“Awards” presentation choreography went as follows: Eight alumni introduced the eight soon to be ensigns from ’14 and each alum introduced the next alum. Because of the size of the crowd all of whom fit under the tent, the awards ceremony felt more intimate and personal than other outdoor presentations of the past.
Awards were given to all first class in attendance regardless of USNA Out membership as prescribed by the USNA Staff JAG.
Written script was provided to presenters.
Most of the name badges returned for reuse.
Award/Event Inventory
At the completion of the event, USNA Out has in stock:
- 2* Wrapped in GOLD (girls) TISSUE
Women’s Shoulder boards
1 set of colar devices
USNA Out bumper Sticker
Pin provided separately
1 * Wrpped in BLUE (boys) TISSUE
Men’s Shoulder boards
1 set of colar devices
USNA Out bumper Sticker- Wrapped in RED (Marine) Tissue
- >100 Avery 74461 clip on name badges
- 5 – soft ENS shoulder boards
- 2 – garrison cap officer shields
- 5 – collar devices
- 1 – Men’s hard ENS shoulder boards – boxed
- 0 – Women’s hard ENS boards w/USNA Out logo and collar devices wrapped in BLUE tissue
- 1 – black Marine globe & Anchors in boxes
- 1 – sets of 2 Marine globe & anchor bright
- 1 – roll of tickets
- LOTS of BLUE & YELLOW (gold) tissue paper
- 1 – clear poly pint gift cans
A big THANKS to all those who had roles in making the class of 2016 Midshipman’s Dinner happen. Special BRAVO ZULUs to:
Board member Kristin Barnes ’92 – who
Special thanks to two members who were major contributors to the event, Jeff Rob Beer ’90, Ray & Kathy Green 80 and the SIX board members and ??other USNA Out members whose contributions allowed this event to be “no cost” to all midshipmen attending.
5/1/2016 – the 2016 Alumni & Midshipmen Event in Annapolis
The Invites are OUT!
All USNA Out members are invited to join us at our EIGHTH annual alumni event in Annapolis, when the we welcome our soon to be newest members from the Class of 2016 who will be graduating and commissioning 26 days following our event. Welcoming our new alumni members through this annual event has become the most cherished and meaningful of all USNA Out activities.
The event planners are excited to share that for the first time our event is moving to historic Ogle Hall, the home of the USNA Alumni Association. Ogle Hall is just outside the Yard though Gate Three, on the corner of King James Street & College Avenue. Also new for 2016, so we can better accommodate all our members and guest midshipmen, the event will be held on a Sunday Afternoon, May Day.
RSVPs are required by Sunday, 24 April (note: early registration by 17 April is discounted).
If you cannot make this year’s event, consider making a contribution when you RSVP so that we can continue to keep the event at little to no-charge for our midshipmen guests.
If you have recently met other USNA LGBT alumni who might not be registered on our website, please forward this invitation to them so they may also enjoy the opportunity join us in Annapolis.
For our large membership contingent in the Norfolk area, consider coordinating car pooling with the other LGBT alumni in the area.
Hope to see you in Annapolis!
Just click the invitation below to RSVP!
Continue reading “5/1/2016 – the 2016 Alumni & Midshipmen Event in Annapolis”
12/1/2015 – USNA Spectrum Update
In October, the first “ally week” at USNA, with an announcement made every day at lunchtime from the anchor, featuring various “allies’ speaking about what it means to be an ally.
In the past year, twenty-nine USNA Out members have contributed a total of $4,877 via USNA Out to support our Midshipmen. All of our donated proceeds (minus a modest PayPal processing fee) are directed towards programs that directly benefit LGBT Midshipmen and their allies.
You, too, can help support the USNA Spectrum by making a would like to help, please contribute today.
4/25/2015 – the 2015 Alumni & Midshipmen Dinner in Annapolis
The date was announced here on our website in January, and now the invitations are out. Please RSVP as soon as you can. Early RSVPs (by 12 April) will save $20 from the regular price of $85.
To encourage maximum participation of our members and Midshipmen, the evening is a safe space for attendees.
Welcoming our new alumni members through this annual dinner has become the most significant and meaningful USNA Out event. If you are unable to attend this year’s dinner, please consider making a contribution towards this year’s event when you submit your RSVP so that we can keep this event a no-cost for out midshipmen associate members.
Just click the invitation below to RSVP!
Continue reading “4/25/2015 – the 2015 Alumni & Midshipmen Dinner in Annapolis”